Love in the Riddermark
by LittleIrish22
Summary: When a Female Ranger from the North wanders into Fangorn forest tracking Orcs, she ends up in Edoras face to face with the Third Lord Marshal of the Riddermark himself. A little Fluffy, Nothing too sappy. EomerOOC. Chapter 8 has finaly come!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer crap: I don't own Éomer or any of the characters from Tolkins books. I'm just a fan of his work just writing a story for shits and giggles. I do own Jem and this story that I am writing. Thanks Oh yes, for those of you who are fans of Karl Urban who played Éomer in the movie. Yes I think he's a hottie and that's who I'm pretty much basing the character in looks. And for the last note: I am not fluent in Elvish. I apologize if my Elvish is not correct or even close. Its my own personal Elvish! So take it easy on me kay:)

Chapter 1.

Jem sensed it; Orcs were in the woodlands, it was the foul stench of Orc blood and tree essence (life/blood) that lingered. There was a battle that was fought not so long ago. The Ents fought back against the wretched creatures that carried axes. Watera, her pitch-black horse, seemed hesitant to continue into the wooded area.

"You sense that as well my friend." Jem said softly as she patted his mane. She dismounted Watera, and then continued to look around. As she made her first step she heard a crunching sound. Jem looked down to see she was stepping on a severed arm that once belonged to an Orc. Her brown eyes widened and she took a step back and looked up at Watera, who knew she was uneasy about continuing on and nuzzled her shoulder with his head.

"I'll be alright. I just think there is something really-" She was cut off as some kind of cloth went over her face and she breathed in some sort of sent that caused her to pass out.

"Strip her of her weapons and pack. Make sure her hands are bound and have her horse come with us to Edoras." A soldier instructed. "I shall take her to Lord Éomer at once, she must be an Orc Spy of some sort."

With that being said, the other soldiers did as they were instructed to do and they handed Jem to commanding soldier, while one soldier took Watera by the reigns and proceeded to head back to their leader.

When Jem woke up she noticed her hands were bound behind her back with rope and she was being dragged underneath her arms to the castle. She began to struggle and growled at them, "Let me go!"

"Oh, so your finally awake eh? You've been out for 2 hours!" One of the soldiers said looking down over his shoulder at her.

"What is the meaning of this? Where Am I? Who are you people? This is no way to treat a lady!" She yelled.

"Silence!" The other guard barked at her. "Lord Éomer, will see you now to tell you your fate." She noticed that she had been dragged into some sort of study area of some sorts. Many books sat on shelves and parchments and maps laid on top of the desk that was not to far away from her sight.

"Lord whom?" Jem asked not catching the name the guard had mentioned. She wanted to know whom she was dealing with. She managed to get to her knees and heard footsteps coming closer to the room they were in.

"A feisty one, is she?" A voice asked. Jem could hear footsteps. She could tell it was someone with authority by the tone in his voice. She hung her head and let her brownish-black hair fall causing it to curtain around her face down to her chest.

The man put his hand under her chin and lifted her head to see who his men had captured. Her brown eyes showed a slight hit a fear as he stared at her, but she had courage and a fearless look about her.

She blushed slightly as she looked into the eyes of her captor. He was tall, around 6'1" in height. He wore armor that had horses engraved into the chest plate and his shoulders were broad and straight. His beard and mustache made him look very grown up but she could tell he was still young, in his late 20's she assumed. His eyes that gazed down at her were a color green she had never seen before in her life. She noticed he wore his long blonde hair down with pieces of the sides pinned back into a small little ponytail. He was handsome and what captivated her the most was his strong presents and confidence. She liked a man who was sure of his nature and knew what he wanted.

"Cut her bounds and leave us." He commanded in a steady and confident tone to his officers.

"But my Lord-" One of the soldiers tried to insist that they stay but did as he was told when he saw that the man narrowed his eyes at him not to argue. The other officer cut her bounds and motioned with his head that they should leave before they would be in trouble. They left Jem kneeling on the floor and shut the door behind them as they left.

Jem rubbed her wrists trying to get the soreness to leave and rose up to her feet. She realized that the man continued to stair at her and he approached her. She took two steps back and reached for her sword but realized that her belt that held her sword was gone.

"A good try but they disarmed you. Now… who are you and what were you doing in Rohan territory?" He asked awaiting her answer.

"I am Jem, a ranger from the north. I've been tracking a band of Orc's that attacked an Elvin village about a week ago. I did not realize that I had crossed over into Rohan territory. " She answered calmly.

"My Lady, you ended up in Fangorn Forest. I can't imagine why you would ever take the chance!" He got close to her face and looked at her, and lowered his voice to nearly a whisper. "That forest is haunted. The White Wizard walks threw that forest. His mind is sharp and would not hesitate for a moment to-"

"Are you done My Lord?" She interrupted him showing she cared little about what he had to say to her.

He looked at her nearly speechless, no one had ever dared interrupted him before. Clearly she had no respect for him. "If you were a man, I'd strike you across the face for interrupting me." He growled at her.

Jem glared at him, it was obvious this man had a serious temper. She hope she wouldn't have to match it, knowing very well she had quite a temper as well. "What do you want from me?"

"You say you're a ranger; interesting, I didn't know that women could be rangers. I would like to make a proposal to you then." He said backing off a bit from her. He turned and walked over to a table near the window that had a bottle of Ale and poured a mug for him self. He brought the cup to his lips and took a taste. Such a fine thing Ale was, a true mans drink in his opinion. He then looked back over at her and continued. "Work for mankind, give your loyalty to Rohan and you shall be given food and shelter here at Edoras. I shall see to it that you are well cared for."

Jem now felt her blood boil, surely this man must be joking. "I owe no loyalty to you nor to Rohan. In fact, I believe it was your men who kidnapped me! Swear my loyalty to a country that kidnaps innocent women, minding their own business?" She yelled insulted. "Are you completely mad? I give my loyalty to no one! Who are you to make such an offer like that?"

"Who am I, my lady?" He asked slightly surprised. He raised his head a little higher at her proudly. "I am Éomer, son of Éomund; Nephew to Thèodan, the king of Rohan, and Third Lord Marshal of the Riddimark." He introduced himself. "My lady, Middle Earth as we know it is in extreme danger. Orcs run freely through out the lands and slip past our spies. We do not trust outsiders who have no alliance with us."

"Éomer…" She said softly. She was taken back by whom she was face to face with. Jem had heard of Éomer, threw stories from travelers and such folk. He was known for his impressive fighting skills while remaining on horseback and his loyalty to his people. Also, known for his handsome looks by many women who had the pleasure of seeing him on their travels.

"That is correct." He replied giving a slight bow of his head. His golden hair fell over his broad shoulders and she fought the urge to reach out and touch it. She had never seen such golden blond hair before. She noticed that he started to circle her slowly and scanned her with his commanding eyes. "Tell me Lady Jem, do you not have a family who would be concerned of your ware bouts? Éomer then asked stopping in front of her.

"I have only a brother named Strider, who is also a Ranger. He knows I am capable of taking care of myself." She informed him.

"Strider?" he asked caught off guard. "I have heard of your brother. His swordsmanship is to be some of the best in all Middle Earth. I did not realize he had a sister."

"My brother is the best in all Middle Earth." She replied lifting her chin up in a smug fashion.

Éomer looked at her and gave a slight chuckle, he liked her attitude because it nearly matched his own. He never met a woman so strong in personality before. This would be a nice challenge for him. "So what am I to do with you, my lady? I still don't know if your story is true or not. Maybe you could ride out with me back to Fangorn and I can see your skill as a Ranger.

Jem raised her eyebrows and folded her arms in front of her chest. "You just asked me why I would even risk going into that forest, but now you would accompany me there?" She asked confused.

"Oh yes my dear lady, I believe it to be risky to go in there but, I believe that it would be safer for a man to take you there to make sure you don't run off." He replied walking over to his desk and sitting in his chair.

"I see, you want to test me. Very well my lord, we leave tomorrow at dawn for Fangorn. It is imperative that I find out where those Orcs came from." She in said, giving in to his wish to come with her.

"I shall arrange for your sleeping chambers to be prepared. Also, I should think you would like a bath as well. Seeing you've been tracking a band of Orcs for a week, I should think you would enjoy one." He remarked leaning back into his chair.

"I thank you for your kindness, my lord." She replied with a small bow of her head.

"Denzil!" Éomer called out. The door to the study opened and a guard stood present.

"My lord?" the guard asked with a respectful bow of his head.

"See that the servants prepare a room for Lady Jem, and a bath as well." Éomer said looking threw his maps trying to find a map of Fangorn Forest for his ride out tomorrow.

"Yes, my lord." The guard replied and exited the room.

Éomer found the map he was looking for and left it on the top of the rest so that he could fetch for it tomorrow morning. He then looked up at Jem and rose from his chair over to her. "I shall take you to the stables before you head to your chambers for the evening. Your sword and pack are there along with your horse."

"I'm sure Watera, will be glad to see that I am alright." Jem replied as they made their way out the door and down the hall of Edoras that would lead them to the stables.

"Watera?" Éomer questioned, he gave a small chuckle. "Sounds Elvish."

Jem stopped dead in her tracks. "It is." She replied softly. She forgot that most humans did not speak the language of the Elves. She and her brother had been lucky to learn the language at a young age.

"How do you know Elvish?" he asked her curiously as he looked over his shoulder and noticed she stopped walking. His eyes focused on hers.

"_Naru zathar pallnet moi darths noo sempta_" She said with a smile. (You have beautiful eyes, my lord)

"What does that mean?" he asked nearly mesmerized by her words.

"I lived with the elves with my brother as a small child" Jem lied knowing she could never tell him what she really said.

"What of your parents, my lady?" Éomer asked her in a slightly concerned tone of voice.

She grew sad for a moment thinking about her mother and father, "My mother died when I was only a baby. She died of some rare illness. My father died at the hands of Orcs. I kill them now as revenge. Strider and I ran away from home after our father died, we had no other relatives who could care for us. So we went looking for a family. I was only 3 years old when we left home but, I remember my father, he was a proud and noble man. A man of Gondor as a matter of fact." She said then smiling. "Lord Elron found us in Mirkwood and took us in as if we were his own children. We learned much from them, their language, their style, manners, and fighting skill. My brother and I are different from normal humans being that we were raised by another race, but we have made the people who we love proud of us for living our lives as humans and not trying to be elves." Jem explained as she started to walk again with Éomer next to her listening to her every word. She looked over at him and caught him staring at her. He looked away quickly and blushed very slightly.

"We are at the stables, my lady. Watera should be in one of the stalls near by." He informed her as he escorted her in.

Jem spotted Watera and rushed over to him. "_Nith are malo, Watera_?" She asked in elvish. (Are you all right, Watera?) Watera let out a small whinny to let her know he was fine. As she stroked his mane she replied, "_Awa sol neeth ala mellon_" (Thanks goodness my friend)

Éomer watched her talk to him as if he was an elf. It amazed him how she spoke elvish so fluently and beautifully. He suddenly found himself stairing at her smile and then her long black, curly hair, but it was her big brown eyes that captivated him the most. Her eyes seemed so pure but fearless and courageous.

Jem looked up at him and smiled. Watera how ever felt threatened by Éomers presents and walked in front of her trying to protect her. She gave a giggle, " He thinks you will take me away. I've known him since he was but a small colt. I met him near the streams in the woodland realms during a nature lesson with Lord Elron. That's how he got his name, Watera: One who is drawn to water." She explained to Éomer.

"_Lin bur, Watera" _(It's okay) she said to her horse looking him directly in the eyes while stroking the front part of his face softly. She then glanced over at Éomer and then back to Watera and spoke softly to him, _"Éomer tee mellon" _

"What did you tell him?" he asked curiously?

"Éomer is our friend" she replied looking at him, then remember that she came for her belongings as well. "I'll get my sword and pack, I see the guard hung them up in Watera's stall. Also, I would like to make sure he has been fed."

"Oh not to worry, my lady." A voice said coming from one of the horse stalls. An elderly gentleman came out with a warm smile on his face. "My name is Arill, I am Rohans horse master. I take care of all the horses in Rohans Calvary, with some help from my two sons of course. I must say my lady, you take a great deal of care for your horse."

"How do you do? I am Jem, a ranger from the north. I thank you for looking after Watera for me. I hope he wasn't too much trouble. He can be very defensive with strangers."

"Ho, Ho." He chuckled, "He was no trouble at all. He is a smart creature and could see I meant no harm to him. He adapts quickly to his surroundings. Very rare to see that in a horse." Arill commented impressed.

"Thank you again for your kindness." Jem said with a smile and bowed her head to him. She then walked into Wateras stall and took her pack, sword, bow and arrows, and her daggers. When she was all situated, Jem walked out of the stall and patted Watera on his back.

"Arill, please continue to care for Watera, until further notice from me. Will that be any trouble for you?" Éomer asked him.

"Oh heavens no, Lord Éomer. I will personally see to his care my self. I'll let my sons look over an extra horse or two so I may tend to Watera." Arill informed him.

"_Batha nor tea somtle, Watera." _(Be good for him, Watera) she said softly stroking the front part of his face. With that being said she turned and smiled at Arill and handed him Wateras reigns, leaving the stable. She was happy to know he would be well taken care of and she could get a decent night sleep. As she walked away she heard Éomer calling for her. She really didn't have anything to say to the Third Lord Marshal of the Riddermark, she really just wanted to take a bath and get some rest for the evening.

"My Lady!" She heard him call out to her. As she continued to ignore him she made her way up the stairs of Edoras and heard Éomers foot steps behind him. "Lady Jem!" He said grabbing her wrist before she could reach for the door handle. She whipped around and looked at him, her hair falling over her shoulders as she did. Jem looked down at her wrist and saw his large hand clamped over her wrist. He didn't hurt her but she was agitated at his action and looked back up at him.

"Do not walk away from me." He hissed at her upset. "Who do you think-?"

"I think I shall enjoy a bath, Lord Éomer." She interrupted him again for the second time that day. "After spending a week out in the wild with no comforts or privacy. I very much look forward to a bath and brushing out my hair. But if there is anything else that I can do for you my lord, then please by all means."

Éomer looked at her shocked. She obviously did not understand how to act around someone of his status, nor did it seem to bother her that she didn't care. He saw she was waiting for him to say something but he mumbled how she was free to do as she wished for the evening.

"Then if that is all, I bid you a good night to you, my lord." She said bowing her head, then felt him drop her wrist out of his grasp and she made her way inside the castle.


	2. Chapter 2: Dresses and Disaster!

Disclaimer crap: I don't own Éomer or any of the characters from Tolkins books. I'm just a fan of his work just writing a story for shits and giggles. I do own Jem and this story that I am writing. Thanks! Oh yes, for those of you who are fans of Karl Urban who played Éomer in the movie. Yes I think he's a hottie and that's who I'm pretty much basing the character in looks. And for the last note: I am not fluent in Elvish. I apologize if my Elvish is not correct or even close. So take it easy on me kay:) If you don't like it…don't read it. Simple enough, no?

Chapter 2:

Jem woke up with the sunrise the next morning. She sat up in bed and smiled feeling clean and refreshed. While she loved being a Ranger like her older brother, Jem did miss taking bath in-doors and sleeping in a big fluffy bed in beautiful nightgowns. She looked over to get her clothes and noticed that they had vanished. Just then, there was a knock on the door. She reached over and grabbed her sword and leapt out bed.

"Who is it?" She demanded.

"Oh, begging your pardon my lady, but Lord Éomer, requested that I bring you clothes." A servants voice came from the other side of the door.

Jem sighed and set her sword back in its holder and tossed it on the bed. She told her to enter and saw the servant had brought her clothes, just not the ones she wore yesterday.

"A dress and petite coat?" Jem asked a little disgusted. "These aren't my clothes, where are my clothes?" she demanded.

"Oh my lady, Lord Éomer had us wash them and patch them. He sent these dresses to wear until your clothes are dried and sewn." The servant said with a smile and left them on the bed and left.

"But…" Jem trailed off, "I can't ride a horse in these clothes." She whined picking up the dress with her index finger and thumb, looking at it.

**30 Minutes Later**:

Éomer began eating his breakfast by himself, as he liked to do in the morning. He enjoyed the time to himself and the time to think. That time was short lived when the doors to the dinning hall burst open and Jem proceeded to march over to him and start yelling at him.

"You had no right to take my clothes! I just so happen to enjoy they way they are and I will have no business wearing this-this-_frock_!"

"I trust you slept well, Lady Jem?" he asked ignoring her protests as he bit into a piece of bread. He figured it was a good way of getting back at her for interrupting him yesterday. He finally looked up at her and was almost speechless. She looked magnificent in the dress he chose for her. The maroon color really brought out the brown in her eyes and accented the darkness of her curly hair that she wore down. She looked like she could be a princess.

"Yes, I did. Now what about my clothes?" She demanded to know. Suddenly, she felt embarrassed. She saw the way that Éomer looked at her and felt as if he could see threw her clothing. Jem looked at him, hoping he would respond to her question.

Éomer rose up from his chair and walked over to her and took her hand into his own and bowed his head to her. "You look lovely, Lady Jem, like a true lady of Rohan. Please," he said looking into her eyes, "Do me the honor of having breakfast with me."

She gave a nod to him that she would dine with him and found herself being escorted by the Third Lord Marshal of the Riddermark, to the dinning table. He pulled out her chair and she sat down. She waited for him to sit then reached for some bread and took a sip of her wine.

Éomer watched her eat and something seemed a little off about her. She ate as if she were royalty; she had very proper table manners. He had never seen a ranger eat the way she did. He then spoke, "I apologize for taking your clothes without your consent, Lady Jem. I assumed you wouldn't mind having them washed and mended."

Jem stopped eating and suddenly found herself feeling very guilty for the way she had acted earlier. "No apology is needed, My Lord. It is I who should be apologizing to you, for acting like a mad woman a few moments ago. I am not well tempered, I am afraid." She said with a nervous laugh.

"There is nothing to forgive," he said taking a sip from his wine. "I am afraid, my lady that you will have to ride side saddle. Your clothes will not be ready by then."

"Side saddle? But Lord Éomer, I know nothing about riding side saddle. I was taught to ride a horse like a ranger." She informed him taking a sugar cube out of the sugar bowl that was on the table for tea and placed it in her pocket on her dress.

"Like a man!" Éomer stated. "Lady Jem, you have much to learn about the ways of a lady it seems." He said taking another sip of wine.

"Excuse me?" She asked in shock. "Pardon me for being who I am, My Lord! But I happen to be comfortable being who I am. I can't ride side saddle, I'd fall off of my horse!" She said trying not to yell like before. He was really getting under her skin.

"Not if I was behind you, I would catch you if you started to fall." He informed her.

She looked at him for a moment. His arms would be close just in case something was to happen. She suddenly felt her cheeks grow warm and Jem was confused as to why she suddenly felt shy. "If that is what you wish, Lord Éomer, then I shall meet you at the stables then." She said getting out of her chair.

"I will join you. I am finished with my breakfast." Éomer replied getting up and leading her out of the dinning hall.

When they reached the stables, Jem rushed over to Watera and took out the sugar cube that she pocketed and fed it to him. "_Éomer, doost varst mayo dom, tarool banola. Arwen, astoke muy denta" _(Éomer, wants me to ride side saddle, I lied and said I can't. Arwen taught me to ride that way very well though.)She said softly giggling.

" What was that you say, My Lady?" Éomer asked, only understanding his own name was mentioned.

"Oh nothing, just letting him know that I am not leaving him here alone for too long and that you will be in my company." She lied looking at Watera the entire time.

"Ahh, good morning, My Lord and My Lady." Aroll greeted the two of them bowing his head as he came out of one of the stalls.

"Good morning." They greeted him back both with smiles on their faces.

"My Lord, Firefoot is groomed, fed and ready for you." Aroll informed Éomer while leading a magnificent brown horse by the reigns over to him. He then looked at Jem and said, "My Lady, I'll be taking Watera, to get groomed and fed now. He'll have the best treatment. You have my word."

Jem smiled at the elderly gentalmen, "My thanks again to you, sir. I know my dear friend will be well taken care of. Please don't make too much of a fuss over him. I know you have much work to do." She insisted with a soft smile.

Éomer and Jem then said their goodbyes to Aroll and walked Firefoot outside. Jem was able to get a better look at Éomer's horse. She gently stroked his chestnut brown coat and Firefoot looked back at her and nuzzled her shoulder lightly. She smiled and Éomer was impressed at how quickly she bonded with his horse.

"He's beautiful," She said stroking his mane. "I knew the kingdom of Rohan was well known for it's Calvary, but your horses are magnificent." Before she could say anymore, Éomer grabbed her arm and hoisted her up on Firefoot's saddle and then mounted him.

Jem felt uncomfortable, she truly disliked having to ride side saddle. "This will not work for me, I will surely fall off as soon as Firefoot begins to run at a descent speed." She said and swung her leg over to the other side. She smoothed down her dress and took hold of Firefoots mane.

Éomer was pretty taken back by the way she would ride a horse in a dress. But he would not have her make him feel useless as a man. He looped his arm around her waist and told Firefoot to go. They took off at great speed and Éomer, could feel her stiffen up as he pulled her closer to him to keep her near. He smiled at himself as they exited out of Edoras and began their journey threw the Riddermark.

Jem started to feel slightly more comfortable being so intimately close to Éomer, after a while and felt her body relax a little bit. As they went past the villages outside of Edoras, she noticed how many people recognized Éomer on Firefoot and how they waved and bowed to him in respect as he went by. He would smile and nod his head at them in respect back. Jem was happy to see the way the people of Rohan, looked up to the Third Lord Marshal as if he were their king. She began to see what kind of power Éomer had and his pride in his land as he told her stories about certain places in the Mark.

About 5 miles away from Fangorn Forest, Jem was stuck with a terrible feeling, "Éomer…" she trailed off as she touched his arm that was keeping her close to him. "Go faster, I have a terrible feeling something has happened in Fangorn." She said to him very worried.

"Firefoot, make haste! Ya!" Éomer commanded with his deep voice sending shivers down her spine. "Jem, what is wrong? Do you sense something?" he then asked softly in her ear.

She had only one word for him to describe what she could sense, "Death." She replied softly.

They soon arrived at the outskirts of Fangorn. Jem could feel her pulse quicken as she leapt off of Firefoot. Éomer dismounted after her and watched her as she began to enter Fangorn Forest.

Jem got down on her hands and knees and put her ear to the earth. She listened for any sound of running or walking by Man or Orc. She heard nothing and stood up. "There are no Men or Orc around. We should still be cautious, this forest is old and has seen much life and much death." She ended softly.

Her eyes spotted footprints as she looked down at the ground. It looked to be footprints of both Men and Orc. Jem began to follow the footprints on the ground swiftly and gracefully. They were about a half-mile into the forest when Jem stopped abruptly.

"My Lady?" Éomer asked softly coming up behind her. He watched her kneel down and pick up something. She turned to him and showed him what she found. It was a small wooden toy. He took the toy from her and examined it.

It was a little wooden toy horse. Many children of Rohan played with these horses. He knew a man in one of the villages not far from Fangorn who would whittle and carve toy horses for the children of Rohan. He would give one to each child every year. Éomer himself received a toy horse every year when he was a child.

Jem gave him a look of concern. "No child would come here unless chased. Were any of the villages attacked last night?"

"If so, we would have received notice. My men are stationed in every village of Rohan. But, Éndoran would take half a day to get to Edoras." Éomer explained.

"If the village was attacked last night…" Jem began to say trailing off.

"Then Edoras would only receive word of it now." He finished, feeling his blood starting to heat with anger. "Come, we must return to Edoras immediately."

"I will not leave a child in this forest alone." Jem said as Éomer began to turn to head back to Firefoot.

"My Lady, I must go to my people in Éndoran!" he said grabbing her arm to take her with him.

"Fine, I will look for the child myself then!" Jem replied ripping her arm out of his grasp and continued to walk deeper into the woods.

Éomer stood there for a moment shocked that she would stay in Fangorn Forest all by herself to look for a child. "Stubborn woman!" his spat softly as he began the walk back threw they way they came. He thought about his people and feared the results of the possible attack. King Thèoden made sure his kingdom was well protected; a hundred Orcs were no match for 10 of Rohans Calvary. Éomer's spirits began to raise up again until her heard a blood-curdling scream. "Jem…" he whispered as he stopped in his tracks. "Jem!" he yelled turning back around and headed back to her. He ran with great speed and her drew his sword for protection incase Orcs were roaming. "Jem!" He yelled again going deeper in to Fangorn. "Jem, where are you?"

"Éomer!" he heard her cry out to him. Éomer looked over slightly to the left to see Jem on her knees sobbing. He placed his sword back in its holder when he saw no danger was around them.

"Jem!" He cried out to her as he ran to her. The Third Lord Marshal knelt down to see her tear stained face and her body shaking. "My Lady, what ever is the matter?" he asked.

Jem looked up at Éomer, then turned a little and pointed up. He looked up to see a sight that nearly knocked the wind out of him; it was pure horror to his eyes. He saw three Rohan children, hanging by their necks from ropes that were tied to a huge tree limb. The three small bodies dangled and slightly swayed back and forth. Éomer realized that Jem was right; there had been death in Fangorn. He felt overcome by anger and sadness. They were only children and had suffered a cruel death. Out of nowhere, he let out a cry of anger and rage and dropped to his knees and bowed his head in grief. He could not save them. It was too late.

Suddenly, the smallest child's body dropped to the ground, and the other two soon followed after. Éomer looked over to see Jem had small daggers with her.

"I will not let them dangle like fresh meat." She said disgusted. "I will come back tomorrow and burry them myself." Jem then walked over and picked up the smallest child who was a little boy who looked to be about 3 years old and carried him over to a tree that provided shade that would keep his body hidden.

"I shall come with you then. They are Children of Rohan and they deserve a proper burial. I will not let their death be in vain. They will not be forgotten." He picked up the eldest; a boy around 10-11 years old and laid him next to his brother under the tree. He then went and gathered the body of a girl who had to be around 6 years old and laid her next to her brothers.

Jem looked at the three children who lay dead before her feet. They looked like sleeping angels and broke out sobbing again.

Éomer placed his hand on her shoulder for comfort. He wanted to cry as well but maintained composure for Jem's sake. He then felt her lean her head on his shoulder and Éomer let his arm find his place around her waist and drew her to his side for comfort. "I promise, the Orcs will pay for this. They will pay for this with their own lives.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer crap: I don't own Éomer or any of the characters from Tolkins books. I'm just a fan of his work just writing a story for shits and giggles. I do own Jem and this story that I am writing. Oh yes, for those of you who are fans of Karl Urban who played Éomer in the movie. Yes I think he's a hottie and that's who I'm pretty much basing the character in looks. As always, I'm not fluent in Elvish, so lets not freak out cause I can't speak correct Elvish okay? And as always any lines from Peter Jackson's films are all his rights. I'm changing up a little bit of the seen where Éomer is getting tossed out of the kingdom so try not to freak people. I'm not making money off of this story cause lets face it…I'm not _that_ good! ;

Authors Note: Special thanks to my two new friends who have been kind enough to lend me their words of encouragement for my story. It means a lot to me to have fellow Éomer/ Karl fans to talk to. It helps the obsession to have fellow obsessed people to talk to! Ha, ha, ha! Jetta

Chapter 3: Burials and Banishment!

The next day, Jem rode out to Fangorn Forest in another dress. She wore a black dress to symbolize she was in mourning. This time she road Watera, out to Fangorn and besides her riding on Firefoot, was Éomer; who was very focused on the ride out.

When they reached the forest they dismounted form their horses. Jem clutched her pack to her chest, as they made their way to the three children. When they found them where they had left them, Éomer started digging a giant grave. Jem made three crosses out of sticks and leather ties that she carried in her saddle, and made flower wreaths for them to wear on their heads. After finishing all that, she took the last item out of her pack she brought with her. Éomer had finished digging the grave and looked at her.

"Lady Jem, where on Middle Earth did you get such beautiful cloth and why would you bring it out here?" He asked walking up to her touching the satin white fabric with his fingers.

"I took it from my bed in Edoras." She told him simply. "I realize that I had no right to do so but I do not feel right about dumping them in a hole and throwing dirt on their precious faces. They have been through much; they will at least be laid to rest with a beautiful sheet to lay on and one to cover them." Jem explained to him as she laid out the first sheet in the hole that Éomer had dug.

Éomer then began to carry each child over in his strong arms, gently laying them down on the sheet. As he laid the smallest of the children down in the grave, Jem saw a tear fall from his eye onto the little ones cheek. He then reached into his armor and pulled out the little wooden toy horse that Jem, found yesterday and placed it in the small boys hands that were crossed on top of his chest. He gently stroked his hair and whispered a small prayer in a language that Jem didn't recognize. He then rose to his feet and looked down at the son's and daughter of the Riddermark, making a silent promise that he would kill those who were responsible.

Jem hammered the three crosses into the ground and hung flower circlets on them that she made earlier that morning. She knelt down and leaned in the hole and kissed each child on the forehead and whispering words of peace and eternal rest to them in Elvish. She laid the last sheet over them and looked up at Éomer nodding that it was time to fill in the hole. When both of them finished, they stood together looking at the freshly made grave that was underneath one of the magnificent trees of Fangorn with the three small crosses that showed there was a proper burial.

"_Troy beith nair palmsa, colre umth otha Rohan" _Jem said in Elvish putting her right hand over her heart in respect. Éomer looked at her puzzled by her words as always when she spoke Elvish. He could listen to her speak it all day long. He loved how the words seemed to roll off her tongue. She looked at him, "Be at peace now, young children of Rohan." As she said the last few words, she began to choke up and feel the tears flow freely from her large brown eyes. "They were so young, no one should die so young and so tragic. I will kill who did this to them…" she trailed off making her way back to Watera, she heard Éomer walking next to her and she looked at him. "…No army in this world can stop me from getting revenge; this is unforgivable."

"Now Lady Jem, please…do not go doing anything drastic that will cause me worry." Éomer said to her trying to calm her down as he watched her slightly lift her skirt to step over a tree root that was coming up from the ground. He could see why she preferred her Ranger clothing to proper woman's clothes.

"Éomer, you needn't worry about me." She said continuing to make way back to the outside land where the Riddermark boarders were. "I would be concerned of your uncle then of me, if I were you." She added.

He grabbed her wrist making her halt in her tracks and she looked to see that he very offended by what she had just said to him. "Excuse me? My uncle is fine!" Éomer said very put off by her words.

Jem lifted her head slightly to him in an almost snobby manner, "Is he?" she questioned. "With all due respect, My Lord Éomer, your uncle does not look well at all…tell me, when was the last time you were able to have a discussion with him that Grima Wormtongue wasn't present?" she pulled her hand away from him.

Éomer paused and looked over his shoulder and narrowed his green eyes at her. She had a point; it had been some time since he could talk to his uncle with out Grima present. Grima was once a man of Rohan; now he sided with Saruman, the White Wizard of Isengard. Éomer had began to see this more so now, the longer her thought about it. In recent months Grima was constantly "advising" Thèoden. The king had been making strange choices and not in the best interest of Rohan for that matter.

"For your information Lady Jem, I am quite aware of the situation and do not need council for the matter." He growled agitated.

Jem decided to remain silent. It was evident that he saw the same thing she did. The king of Rohan was no long the ruler he once was. She wondered why he did not ask her how she knew about the king and Grima. She remembered how she found out about the strangeness of it all. Last night she had slipped out of her bedchambers to look around the castle. While doing so, she wandered into the great hall of Edoras where King Thèoden sat in his throne. She had remembered that the king was not an extremely old man, but by the looks of him, he had seemed to be well over a hundred years old! By his side was Grima Wormtongue, trying to get him to sign a piece of parchment. A guard had found her hiding behind a pillar and sent her back to her room before, she could find out what it was that he wanted the king to sign. As she was being escorted, she was asked if she had heard anything. Jem lied and said that she got lost looking for the kitchen.

They had made their way out of Fangorn back onto the planes of the Riddermark, where they found Firefoot and Watera. Jem began to feel badly about what she had said to him. Clearly, Éomer was not only proud of his kingdom and it's people, but of his family too. Just as she was going to apologize for her remarks Éomer began to speak.

"I am concerned for my cousin, Thèodred. My uncle sent him out to scout the Fords of Isen for Orcs, for they are growing in larger numbers these days." He confessed to her. He had Firefoot come to a complete stop atop of a small hill and he gazed upon the Mark with great pride.

Watera had trotted up next to Firefoot and let out a small snort, Jem patted his neck and looked over to Éomer. She a strange feeling she never felt before, she admired him for his strength and devotion to his people, but this was something completely different. She couldn't figure out what it was and she kept staring at him. Suddenly, Éomers facial expression changed from pride to pain. "Lord Éomer, are you alright? What is-"

"I just had the worst feeling, something is very wrong. I must go find my cousin! Firefoot make haste! HA!" he commanded kicking his heels into Firefoots side. Before Jem, could react to his words Firefoot swiftly took off carrying the Third Lord Marshal across the plains of the Riddermark.

"Well so much for getting to apologize." She mumbled to herself. "Lets go Watera, I have a feeling that Éomer isn't far from the truth. There is death in the Riddermark this day." She said making a clicking noise for him to follow.

It didn't take long for Watera to catch up with Firefoot. Éomer led Jem back to the gates of Edoras and had commanded to the guards present to have his best men ready to ride to Isen immediately. It began to rain and within minutes twenty men on horses rode behind Éomer and Jem to Isen to look for the king's son and his men.

When they arrived to the Fords, they had come to a dead halt. Jem let out a gasp and put her hand to her mouth and looked away for a moment. Bodies of Men, Orc, and horse littered the ground. It had been a gruesome battle and it appeared no one had survived.

"Thèodred." He whispered to himself. "Find the kings son!" Éomer barked at the men and dismounted off Firefoot, searching the ground for his cousin.

"Mordor will pay for this!" A rider said aloud, as he searched threw the bodies.

"These Orcs aren't from Mordor." Éomer said with disgust in his voice when he pushed an Orc of the body of one of his men with his foot. He saw that the foul creature had the white hand of Saruman on his helmet.

"Isengard." Jem whispered remaining on Watera. She didn't feel it was right for her to go the bodies of Rohans soldiers since she herself was not a soldier of Rohan. Jems thoughts were interrupted when she felt something brush against her arm. She looked over to see it was Firefoot nuzzling her arm. She patted him on the head and said, "_Noonsa bolla tre muerte, reli Firefoot?" _(You have seen much death, haven't you Firefoot?) He tossed his head up and down as if to answer "yes" to her. She smiled and leaned in softly and said, _"Eps nar tritesnath, stoll horse ba Rohan." _ (You are very brave, noble horse of Rohan.)

"My Lord Éomer, over here!" a soldier called out to him. Jem watched Éomer rush over to see the soldier found Thèodred.

Éomer looked at his cousin and saw that he was wounded badly. He also noticed that Thèodred was just barely breathing.

"He's alive." He said softly with a hope in his voice for his cousin's life. Three of the riders came over and lifted Thèodred off the ground. Éomer made his way back to Firefoot and saw that he was by Jem. He mounted him and the riders helped get the kings son up on Firefoot where Éomer made sure he wouldn't fall off. Éomer kicked his heels into Firefoots side and they started back for Edoras.

Jem followed Éomer, to Edoras. They were all soaked from the rain but the sun came out from behind the clouds and started to shine down upon them. The riders managed to get Thèodred off of Firefoot and carried him into the castle. Jem told Éomer that she would get Firefoot back to the sables and would find him later to check on his cousin's condition. She dismounted Watera and gathered his reigns with her left hand and grabbed Firefoots with her right making her way back to the stables.

When she entered the stables she could hear Arill singing a song. She smiled despite the sadness she had gone threw today and walked inside with Watera and Firefoot. "Horse Master Arill, I come back to you with two horses who are tired and wet from their journeys today."

"Ah, Lady Jem, I was wondering if you and Lord Éomer were ever coming back today. I see you have brought Firefoot with you." He said taking Firefoots reigns from her and leading him back to his stall. "Tell me my dear, where is Lord Éomer? It is unlike him to have someone else bring Firefoot back to here. He is very fond of his horse just like a true Marshal of Rohan normally is." Arill said coming back to take Watera to his stall next.

Jem handed him the reigns and replied, "He is with his cousin right now in the castle. Lord Thèodred has been seriously wounded from an Orc attack in the Ford of Isen." She followed Arill back to the stall where Watera was being fed and brushed by one of Arill's sons.

"Oh my. That is awful; Lord Éomer is very close to his cousin. They grew up practically brothers together." Arill explained to her. "Lady Éoywn will be devastated by this news."

"Pardon me, Horse Master, but who is Lady Éoywn?" Jem asked curious. "I do not recall Lord Éomer, mentioning he had a wife." She said almost sadly.

Arill let out a laugh and Jem looked at him upset. "Oh begging your forgiveness, My Lady. Lady Éoywn is not Lord Éomer's bride, she is his sister."

"I did not realize he had a sister." She said softly, suddenly feeling very relived. She paused and felt confused again to why she was feeling all these emotions. She looked at Arill, "There is nothing to forgive my friend. I shall be heading into the castle to change out of these wet clothes." With that being said, Jem left the stables and headed into the Castle of Edoras.

Jem entered her room and saw lying on the bed were her ranger clothes. They were all washed, hemmed and looked brand new. She slipped out of the dress into her regular clothes and brushed out her long dark hair braiding some of her hair on the sides back into a small ponytail and leaving the rest down. Jem had slipped her belt on that had her sword in its holder and placed her small daggers in their proper holders that were on her boots. Her bow and arrows were hanging on her back along with her small pack that she carried. She looked in the mirror to examine her image and approved of it.

She left her room and made her way down the hall to see if she could gather some information on Éomer's ware bouts. She kept walking and found herself wondering into the Great Hall of Edoras again. Jem heard Éomer's voice and she did the same as last time but hid behind a different pillar. She peaked out behind the pillar to see Éomer standing before King Thèoden's throne along with a beautiful woman with long golden hair like Éomer's but longer. _"That must be Lady Éoywn, Éomer's sister. She's so beautiful and regal." _Jem thought turning her head back so not to be seen. She then heard the voice of Grima Wormtongue. He was accusing Éomer of warmongering.

"Warmongering" he asked in a low voice with a growl in his tone. He grabbed Grima by the throat and held him up against a pillar that wasn't too far away from the one Jem hid behind.

"_Éomer, that temper of yours is going to get you into trouble one of these days_." She thought rolling her eyes.

"How long is it since Saruman, bought you? What was the promised price, Grima?" Éomer questioned him. "When all the Men are dead, you will take your share of the treasure?"

Grima's eyes shifted over to Éoywn, who was making her way towards her cousin's room to check on him. She stopped for a moment and looked at Grima slightly disgusted and very worried. She decided to let her brother deal with him and walked away.

Éomer grew furious and tightened his grip on Grima. "Too long have you watched my sister! Too long have you haunted her steps."

Grima seemed unaffected by Éomer's fury. He looked over Éomer's shoulder to see the guards of the court come up behind him and grabbed both of his arms to restrain him.

Jem knew there was nothing she could do for him. She was a good swords woman but she knew she couldn't take on heavily armored Rohan soldiers on her own. If her brother were here then she wouldn't think twice about it. But being there was only her, she knew she wouldn't win.

"You have seen much Éomer, Son of Éomund. Too much." Grima said as guards found they were having a hard time controlling the Third Lord Marshal of the Riddermark. One of them punched him in the stomach to try and get him to stop fighting.

Jem could hear the wind being knocked out of him and stood in horror to hear the rest of Grimas words.

"You are banished forthwith from the Kingdom of Rohan…and all its domains under pain of death."

"Death." Jem said below a whisper horrified and continuing to watch all that was going on.

Éomer continued putting up a good struggle, "You have no authority here! Your orders mean nothing!" he growled. "AH!" Again, the guard punched him in the stomach for him to settle down.

"This order does not come from me. If comes from the king." Grima said taking a parchment from his cloak and displayed it in front of Éomer.

With all the excitement going on, Jem was distracted by her thoughts and felt a hand clamp over her mouth and a hand go around her waist from behind. She had been found…again.

Before Éomer or Grima could say anymore, Jem let out a muffled scream and started kicking and grabbed the wrist of the hand that was covering her mouth, trying to pull it away.

"What? What is the meaning of this?" Grima demanded.

"Jem!" Éomer cried out to her trying to tear his way out of the guards hold on him. Éomer was indeed a strong man; it took five of the court guards just to hold him back.

"Who is this woman? Guard, take your hand away this instant!" Grima commanded. The guard did as he was told and hauled Jem over next to Éomer.

"Foolish woman! What are you doing here?" Éomer growled at her aggravated.

"Who are you woman?" Grima asked. Jem narrowed her dark eyes at him and remained silent. "SPEAK!" He shouted in her face as he took his hand and grabbed her by the chin forcing her to look at him.

"My name is Jem, I am a Ranger from the North! I am a friend of Lord Éomer's and came to visit while passing threw Edoras." She said angrily threw her teeth.

"You? A woman, are a Ranger?" Grima asked barely believing her. He saw her look over at Éomer and gave a very faint smile at him. She wanted him to know not to worry about her. "Oh, I see now." Grima began to say, "You are Lord Éomer's mistress, are you?" He asked in a very coy tone. He brought her face closer to his as if he was going to kiss her. Éomer was wild with anger, he wanted to tear Grima limb from limb. "How about this my dear? Why don't you come keep my sheets warm from me and be my lady?" He questioned her.

Jem smiled and looked up at him with her big doe eyes and moved in close as if she were going to actually kiss him. Éomer watched in shock and never took his eyes off of her, he then saw her do something that not even he would dare think to do. Jem spat in his face.

Grima let go of her face and touched his face where she spat on him and looked at her completely mortified.

"_Noonsa repugnancia dos_." she said in Elvish with a wicked smile crossing her pink lips.

"GET THEM OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Grima screamed at the guards.

The guards did as they were ordered and dragged the Ranger and the Kings Nephew out of the Great Hall of Edoras and down to the stables.

"Let of me this instant!" Éomer commanded as he was being dragged threw the city of Edoras. He was humiliated by the looks he was given by the people of the city who had always looked up to him. They were concerned and afraid for Éomer.

"I am sorry Lord Éomer, but this is by order of the King. We can not disobey his orders." The king's main guard, Hama said to him.

They were lead to the stables where many riders were waiting for Éomer. Jem saw Firefoot was waiting for him but did not see Watera. "These men are the ones that remain loyal to you, Éomer, they are banished as well." Hama explained to him.

"Watera, Where is he?" Jem cried out upset.

"He will become a horse of Rohan now, my lady. We need all the horses we can spare for our soldiers." He explained to her as he watched Éomer mount Firefoot.

"NO! He's my horse! You can't take him away from me! He's my horse! Arill! Arill! Get me Watera!" Jem screamed trying to make her way into the stable. The guards retrained her and Arill came rushing out to see what was the matter.

"What is going on here?" Arill demanded, his two sons soon followed out with him.

Hama turned to all who was present and announced, "By order of King Thèoden, Ruler of Edoras and the Riddermark. Éomer, Son of Éomund is banished from the Kingdom of Rohan by death! Those who follow him are also banished!" The gasps that came from the people of Edoras were loud.

Jem looked up at Éomer and could feel his despair and pain that stabbed at his heart. She felt the stabbing pain of her own heart as she came to terms that there would be no way to get Watera. Tears began to sting her eyes and she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She looked to see it was Éomer. "Lady Jem, ride with me." He said extending his hand to help her up on the saddle. Jem placed her hand into his and swung her leg over Firefoot and sat in the saddle with Éomer in front of her. She looked back at Arill and smiled sadly.

"My sons and I will take care of Watera, my lady. I give you my word." Arill said to her and his sons nodded in agreement. Arill somehow knew that she and Watera would meet up again. It is hard to keep a horse and it's master apart for very long.

Jem bowed her head and felt more tears fall from her eyes. "Thank you." She said and turned placing her hands on Éomer's shoulders. Jem started to cry again as they left Edoras and her best friend behind them.


	4. Chapter 4: Nights and Mornings

Disclaimer crap: I don't own Éomer or any of the characters from Tolkien's books. I do own Jem and this story that I am writing. For fans of Karl Urban who played Éomer in the movie; I think he's a hottie and that's who I'm pretty much basing the character in looks. As always, not fluent in Elvish, so lets not freak out cause I don't know correct Elvish okay? And as always any lines from Peter Jackson's films are all his rights. I'm not making money off of this story cause lets face it…I'm not _that_ great! ;

Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who continues to read this story. I've been having such a ball writing it! Feel free to keep commenting and letting me know how you think things are going. This is a bit of a short Chapter but I think it's an important one. We see the developing feelings between Éomer and Jem. Jetta

P.S. My apologies if any wording or spelling might be off. It's about 1 o'clock in the morning right now, so my brain might be a little off.

Chapter 4: Nights and Mornings on the Riddermark!

It had been hours since Éomer, Son of Éomund, Third Lord Marshal of the Riddermark, had been banished from Edoras; his home. Behind him on his saddle sat Jem, a female Ranger from the north who was raised by Lord Elrond, the leader of Elves of Rivendale. Thirty loyal men rode behind him with great strength and speed heading north of the Riddermark, for they were also banished because of their loyalty to Éomer.

Éomer, looked behind him to see that Jem had laid the side of her head on his back against his armor. "My Lady?" he asked her softly. She lifted her head up from against his back and wiped away any remaining tears from her cheeks.

"My Lord?"

"I want to ask you something." He said to her in a strong confident voice. "When we were in the Golden Hall, you said something in Elvish to Wormtongue. May I inquire what you said to him?"

Jem rested her hand back on his shoulder and remembered what she smugly said to Wormtongue. "_Noonsa repugnancia dos_." She laughed at what she remembered and said softly in Éomer's ear, "You disgust me."

Éomer felt his lips tug into an amused smile. How she captivated him with her boldness amazed him sometimes. He knew no other woman on Middle Earth that would ever say that to a man of high power like Grima.

They continued to ride on late into the night, Éomer insisted to check the plains of the Mark for Orcs. He would not have any of his people harmed just because he was banished. Éomer told his men to keep an eye out for any movements and ears open to any strange sounds.

As he was about to dismount Firefoot, for a few moments to rest when one of his men spoke,

"My Lord, Look! In the west, there is a fire!"

Jem felt her chest tighten, "Éomer," She whispered in his ear. "Fangorn is west from here!" she felt panic overwhelm her senses and she could not tell if anyone was near the children's graves or not. But she would not allow any beast or man defile those graves.

"My Lady," Éomer said taking her hands off of his shoulders and wrapped him around his waist firmly. Jem felt more then her chest tighten up, her whole body seemed to clench at how intimately she seemed to be holding on to him. "Hold on to me tightly." He said looking back at her to see she was blushing almost crimson red. He then looked forward and commanded his men to charge.

Jem held on to him tightly and felt the wind go threw her hair. She was impressed with Firefoots speed and could understand why Éomer, would have one of the best horses in Rohan. As they rode closer towards the fire Jem could tell it was Orcs. She reached her right hand down to her boot and pulled out one of her daggers.

Éomer drew out his sword and could hear the others do the same as they charged. He let out a battle cry and swung his sword, chopping off an Orcs head.

Jem could feel blood land on her arms and legs; it didn't bother her in the least. The more Orcs killed, the better, was her motto. Just then and Orc grabbed her and pulled her off of Firefoot. She screamed as she fell to the ground, and rolled out of the way of an Orc axe that was coming down near her. Leaping to her feet she smiled at the Orc, "Nice try, but you will have to do better then that." She lunged forward and shoved her dagger into his eye and placed her boot on his chest and slid it out.

"JEM!" Éomer cried out turning Firefoot around. He had never seen a woman so ruthless in battle. In fact he never seen a woman fight like she did. She slid her dagger back in its holder on the side of her boot and drew out her sword and grinned. The Orcs assumed that this would be an easy picking for them. A woman could be no match for an Orc, or so they thought.

Jem turned around to see an Orc was charging after her. She gave a sly smile and kicked it in the stomach. As soon as he dropped to his knees she spun around and kicked in the back of his head letting him fall flat on his face. Not even thinking twice, Jem lifted her sword and shoved it threw his back. "Ugh, you guys disgust me more then Wormtongue!" she yelled pulling out her sword and chopping of another Orcs head off.

"And I just had a bath!" She yelled as blood splattered on her. She wiped off the Orc blood that landed on her face and looked around to see the Rohirrim had killed all the Orcs. Éomer trotted up to her on Firefoot.

"Lady Jem, are you alright?" he asked dismounting Firefoot. He looked at her, she was covered in Orc blood, her hair was wild from battle and there was a fire that blazed in her eyes that nearly frightened him. She had proved to him that she was a skilled warrior and that she seemed to almost enjoy the kill of the Orc more then he did.

"I am fine, in fact I feel great!" she said laughing then suddenly stopped. She turned around to face Fangorn Forest. Her smile fell away from her face and closed her eyes for a moment to concentrate. Éomer walked up next to her and took a hard look at her; he then looked at Fangorn Forest and had a feeling himself that he had never felt before.

"The children…" she trailed off for a moment and looked up at him. "We have slain their killers."

"How do you know that?" He asked her skeptical. "Those Orcs could have just arrived in the Riddermark." He said to her.

"No…I-I feel it, they can be at peace now." She said as a tear came down her cheek. She wasn't upset that he had a hard time believing her. Jem was happy that the children's spirits can be free and be with those who would take care of them.

As Éomer was about to turn to mount Firefoot when Jem, grabbed his arm and pointed to the treetops of the forest. He saw what looked to be three small lights rise up and twinkle at the two of them. As if they were saying "Thank You" to the both of them, Jem smiled and bowed her head to the lights. Éomer suddenly found himself doing the same, out of respect for what he was witnessing. The three lights twinkled again and then rose up into the heavens where they would remain. They looked at one another for a moment and smiled at the sight they had just witnessed.

"I am so happy, they have found their peace in the heavens." Jem said softly. Éomer was about to reply when a rider had shouted,

"My Lord, should we set up camp for the night?"

"Yes, set up the tents! We will camp here tonight!" Éomer called back to him.

Jem took Firefoot, by the reigns looked at Éomer, "I will camp outside with the horses tonight, my lord."

After about 20 minutes of reasoning, Éomer was able to get Jem to stay in his tent for the night while he would sleep outside. "Honestly Lady Jem, you do not know the harsh cold nights the Mark bring. You will be warm inside my tent." He insisted as he led her to the tent that was set up.

"I believe you, Lord Éomer. I am not putting up a fight; I feel badly for taking your tent is all." Jem confessed.

"You needn't worry about me, my lady. I promise you, I shall be fine and comfortable under the stars and on the earth of the Mark." Éomer assured her with a soft smile.

Jem opened the flap to the tent and stepped in and took off her pack. She remembered she kept her bedroll inside and took it out. She opened up the flap again to see Éomer had his back to her talking with a rider. "Lord Éomer!" She called out to him.

He looked over his shoulder and then turned to face her. "Lady Jem is there something wrong?" he asked concerned.

She tossed her bedroll at him and it landed at his feet. "Sleep well, Lord Éomer" she said smiling and shut the flap of the tent to retire for the evening.

Éomer chuckled and picked up the bedroll then laid it on the ground not too far from Jem's tent. He couldn't figure out why but he had an overwhelming sense to protect her. He pondered this while lying down on the roll. Why did he feel such a need to protect a woman who could obviously take care of her self? Éomer didn't have much time to dwell on this as he found his eyelids closing and rest finding him for the evening.

The dawn began to creep up slowly on the Riddermark. Éomer had awakened to the sound of his men starting to take some of the tents down and prepare for the ride North.

He yawned and stretched out his arms while sitting up. He looked around to see some of the men were tending to their horses and he smiled inwardly. The Rohan people we known as the "Horse Lords"; because of the deep respect and care they gave to their horses. Éomer looked over to his tent to see Firefoot standing by his tent where Jem was. He rose to his feet and walked over to his friend.

"You keeping guard too boy?" He asked him scratching between Firefoot's eyes. Firefoot gave a quiet neigh and nuzzled his arm with this head. Éomer laughed, "I do not know what it is about this female Ranger from the North, but I feel this strong feeling that there is a reason why our paths have crossed. I wonder that it might be I am hiding more then I care to talk about."

Firefoot nudged Éomer in the direction of the tent trying to tell him to go wake her. He chuckled at his horses' actions." Alright old friend, I shall wake her." He walked over to the tent and pulled the flap up and walked in. Éomer did not find Jem asleep; instead he found her cleaning the blade of her sword.

Jem looked over and smiled at him, "Good morning, My Lord."

"Good morning, Lady Jem. Did you sleep well?" he asked, noticing that she cleaned her blade before she did her own face. She still had blood from last night's battle smeared on her face.

"I slept well, thank you. I am glad I took the tent. I did not realize how cold night in the Riddermark…can…" she trailed off softly as Éomer reached his right hand out and touched her cheek where the blood still remained. A warm feeling rushed threw her body and she found it comforting and slightly exciting. Jem pressed her cheek a little harder against the Rohirrim warriors' hand. She closed her eyes for a moment and blushed.

Éomer felt his stomach clench a little by nerves, he never intended her to lean into his touch so easily. "Do you have water left for your face or would you like me to have someone fetch you some more?" He asked her.

"Aye, I have water." She replied trying to find her ability to speak. Her eyes still closed she prayed that when she opened them that it would not just be a dream. Her eyes opened to see he was still there but his hand had left her face and held out a towel to her.

"Wash then Lady Jem, stained Orc blood does not suit your face." Éomer said softly looking down into her soft brown eyes. He realized that he was sounding ridiculous and that he should leave before anything else could happen.

"Aye." She said very softly, taking the towel from him and watched him make his way to the flap of the tent.

"We ride out soon." He said to her and exited the tent.

Jem sighed to her self and preceded to wash her face with the cloth he handed her. _"I can not believe this. I fear I am starting to have feelings for Éomer, Third Marshal of the Riddermark. I wonder what Strider would have to say about this." _She thought to herself as she finished washing her face and began to pack up her things.


	5. Chapter 5: Reunited!

Disclaimer crap: I don't own Éomer or any of the characters from Tolkien's books or any phrases that have been said in the books. I do own Jem and this story that I am writing. For fans of Karl Urban who played Éomer in the movie, I think he's a hottie and that's who I'm pretty much basing the character in looks. As always, not fluent in Elvish, so lets not freak out cause I don't know correct Elvish okay? And as always any lines from Peter Jackson's films are all his rights. I'm not making money off of this story cause lets face it…I'm not _that_ great:)

Chapter 5: Reunited!

As the men disassembled the camp, Jem decided to visit with the horses. She talked to each one in Elvish and they would all respond to her in different ways. Jem also took notice that several of the men seemed very nervous as she talked to the horses. Some would whisper to one another, point or stair at her. She had seen it all before anytime she spoke Elvish around Men. Sometimes they would accuse her of trying to bewitch their horses by talking in Elvish tongues. Jem normally shrugged it off as ignorance of Men.

When she reached Firefoot, she noticed he seemed to be watching something. She looked in the direction he was looking in to see Éomer talking to Denzil, who was one of the most loyal soldiers under his command. She stroked Firefoots face and continued to look in Éomers direction. _"Mock el fola Éomer, cutta satmer Orc creeve moi turnith." _She said softly to him. (I believe Lord Éomer, was not too impressed with the Orc blood on my face from last night) Firefoot stomped his front hoof to the ground. Jem smiled, _"Lanath turr bo par?" _she questioned softly leaning her head against his. (Why do I care what he thinks?)

"Have the men find the carcasses of the dead and burn them. I will not have our lands littered with bodies." Éomer instructed Denzil.

"Yes, My Lord." Denzil replied. Before Denzil went over to carry out his orders he looked over to see Jem staring at Éomer and talking to his horse. "My Lord, Lady Jem is over by the horses and she seems to be talking to them. Firefoot in particular."

Éomer looked up to see that his soldier was correct; he caught her staring at him as well. "Carry on, Denzil." He commanded and walked over to Jem.

Jem blushed deep red when he looked up at her and she stroked Firefoots mane trying to get the fire in her cheeks to go away. Éomer walked up to her and looked at her.

"Lady Jem, we will be riding in a few moments. I've decided that we will head north of here since you are familiar with the north quite well. Perhaps, you will give direction to me?"

She looked up at him and swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat, "I will be more then happy to assist you, Lord Éomer." She said forcing herself to use her confident tone. Jem was desperate not to wilt like a flower every time she would have to talk to him. It wasn't how she normally acted, so why should being around him be any different. She was fine until he touched her cheek so softly; so intimately this morning.

"Lord Éomer," Denzil said returning, "The carcasses are burning as we speak."

"That did not take very long." Éomer said surprised.

"We had more hands to make lighter work, My Lord. Forty more men have joined our company." Denzil informed.

"Forty? Where have they come from?" Jem asked confused.

"From the other villages in the Mark, My Lady. Word of Lord Éomer's banishment has spread through out the Riddermark. Many Rohirrim, proudly follow Lord Éomer." Denzil confessed.

Jem began to think about what he just said for a moment, the loyalty that Éomers men showed towards him was amazed her. They would follow him even if it meant their own banishment from Rohan.

"That is all, Denzil. Inform the men we ride now." Éomer said dismissing him. He felt embarrassed all of a sudden; he knew Jem was starting to realize the loyalty his people had towards him. He felt like he didn't know how to cope with it all of this sudden adoration his men showed towards him.

Denzil gave a small bow of his head to Éomer and left to carry his orders.

"Lady Jem, It's time we ride again." Éomer informed her while putting on his helmet and mounting Firefoot. He looked down at her and offered his hand to her.

Jem grabbed his hand and hopped up onto Firefoot. Her hands found their place on his shoulders. She then realized that they would be traveling at a great speed and moved her hands to rest against the sides of his waist. Éomer didn't even seem to notice; he was too occupied scanning the Mark for any unwanted Orcs.

Suddenly, they took off like lightning across the plains, and the hooves of 70 horses pounded against the earth sounded like the rumbling of thunder. Jem looked behind them to see more riders joining up with their party. She gave a small smile to them and turned her head back to Éomer who was very focused and carried a spear with him that he was given moments before they took off.

"_You're men follow you as if you were a king, Éomer, son of Éomund. I know you will not fail them," _she thought to herself. _"I pray you will be able to return to this beautiful land again soon."_

Éomer had led the Rohirrim, to a small spot where they had gathered water for their journey ahead. Jem was still mounted on Firefoots back and could see Fangorn Forest as well as the bond fire of burning Orcs. She estimated that they had to be about 2 ½ miles out from where they had spent the night.

Once they started riding again Jem suddenly felt sadness in her heart. "Watera." She whispered sadly. She could feel that her horse was growing sad at her absents and started to question whether she made the right choice or not. Did she betray her best friend by leaving him there? Should she have stayed and fight to get him back? She thought she was going to be sick but the nausea stopped when she heard a familiar voice cry out,

"Riders of Rohan…What news from the Mark?"

"_Brother?" _ She thought as her eyes went wide open.

Éomer lifted his spear and signaled the Rohirrim to turn around. He was not expecting any visitors in the Riddermark during these dark times. The soldiers spotted three strangers and surrounded them pointing their spears at them. They left enough space for Éomer to ride up on Firefoot to present himself as leader. Before he did though he looked over his shoulder and looked at Jem.

"Do not be afraid, My Lady. I will not allow them to harm you." He said softly so only the two of them could hear.

Jem gave a slow nod that she understood and forced herself not to blush. Normally she wouldn't allow a man to get away with saying something like that without protesting. But out of respect for him she kept her mouth shut.

Firefoot then trotted up in the circle where the three men were. Jem recognized two of the three faces that stared at her, Legolas, son of Thranduil, who was king of the Elves of Northern Mirkwood. Standing next to him was her brother Strider, who's dark eyes that matched his sisters, stared at her in question, to why she was sitting on the back of a horse with a man of Rohan.

"What business does and Elf, a Man and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark?" Éomer demanded. He noticed that the Man was staring at Jem and had not answered him. "Speak quickly!"

"Ella?" Legolas questioned aloud.

"Legolas!" Jem cried out excited to see him. She dismounted from Firefoot and rushed over to him. She bowed her head as a sign of respect to his royalty, then looked at him and smiled. Legolas placed his hands in to hers concerned.

"_Ella, shewa blan nee Rohirrim?_" he questioned her confused. (Ella, What are you doing with the Rohirrim?)

"_Nay Nay! Nor netha Ella zeest dat Rohan._" She said softly but in a nervous/happy tone in her voice. She did not want anyone to think there was something wrong. (No no! I do not go by Ella in Rohan)

Legolas looked at her and then at Éomer, he realized the situation she was in and decided to play along. "_Dor het_" he replied. (I see)

The Dwarf that was with them decided to speak up, "Give me your name horse-master, and I shall give you mine."

Éomer gave a very annoyed look, it was clear that this creature did not know who he was talking to. He handed his spear to the rider next to him and dismounted. Many of the men pulled back their spears for Éomer to walk up to them. "I would cut off your head, Dwarf…if it stood but a little higher from the ground." He replied in a slightly agitated tone.

Jem pulled her hands out of Legolas' and was about to explain they were friends of hers but Strider grabbed her arm and pulled her next to him. Just as he did, she saw Legolas had his bow ready with an arrow. "You would die before you stroke fell." He said as his arrow was pointed straight at Éomers face. Jem let out a gasp and was about to rush over to him to tell him he was no enemy but Striders left hand remained on her arm holding her.

Éomer was unaffected by the arrow pointed at him because his men had pointed their spears directly at Legolas.

Strider put his right hand on Legolas' arm and gently pushed his bow down away from Éomer. Most of the Rohirrim pulled their spears back when they saw that no harm would come to their leader, some were still skeptical of the strangers.

"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimi son of Glôin and Legolas of the Woodland Realm." Aragorn introduced himself and his companions.

Jem walked over to Éomer, and noticed his eyes were locked with Legolas' eyes. She was very nervous about what could happen if one of them were to say something the other did not agree with.

Aragorn continued and ignored the tension between the two men, "We are friends of Rohan and of Théoden your king."

Éomer looked over at Aragorn and sighed silently to himself, "Théoden no long recognizes friend from foe," He then placed his hands on the sides of his helmet and removed it from his head. "Not even his own kin." The rest of the Rohirrim draw back their spears.

Jem shifted her eyes to the ground. She realized that was very difficult for a man with such pride as Éomer, to admit that his king was no ruler he once was. Her eyes shifted up to see her brother realize who Éomer was. She remained silent as Éomer continued.

"I am Éomer, son of Éomund, and am called the Third Marshal of Riddermark. The woman who accompanies me is Jem, a Ranger of the North and sister of Strider. Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king…and claimed lordship over these lands. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that we are banished." He lowered his voice so only those who stood in the middle of the circle would hear. "The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there they say…as an old man hooded and cloaked." Éomer looked at Gimli then at Legolas and narrowed his eyes to accuse him, "And everywhere, his spies slip past our nets."

"They are no spies." Jem informed him trying to hold her temper back. Éomer chose to ignore her comment and Aragorn stepped in to explain their presents in the Mark.

"We track a party of Uruk-hai westward across the plain. They have taken two of our friends captive."

Both Éomer and Jem knew of the Uruk-hai party he spoke of and looked at one another.

"The Urks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night." Éomer informed them.

"But there were two Hobbits. Did you see two Hobbits with them?" Gimli asked trying to remain hopeful.

"They would be small. Only children to your eyes." Aragorn explained to them.

They shook their heads no, "We left none alive." Jem said softly in fear that they could have slaughtered two innocent Hobbits.

Éomer turned slightly and pointed in the direction of Fangorn Forest where they left the burning bodies. "We piled the carcasses and burned them."

"Dead?" Gimli asked in shock.

Éomer nodded, "I am sorry." Just then he whistled and called out, "Hasufel! Arod!" He extended out his hand as two horses with no riders appeared and took the reigns. "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters." Éomer then handed Aragorn the reigns nodding farewell and put his helmet back on while making his way to Firefoot. Jem however remained to speak to Legolas and Aragorn for a moment.

"_Legolas, Rohan blair kreeda Watera, dor jantva kaydel unna wearth_-" (Legolas, Rohan soldiers have Watera, I was out numbered and could not think straight-)

"_Cooutha diyel Jem, dor nootha balahartha. Hyet leetha mellon_" (Do not fret Jem, I will check on him. Be safe friend.) He said to her putting his right hand over his heart and bowed his head to her and gave a small smile.

Jem smiled while returning the Elvish gesture to him. She turned to Aragorn and said, "Lord Aragorn, You know my brother Strider. I have not seen him for a while now. If you happen to run into him on your journey please let him know I am safe and…" She trailed off trying not to get choked up as she put her fingertips to her mouth. She suddenly realized how much she did miss him even though she stood before him.

"My Lady?" Aragorn asked seeing how much his sister missed him and placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head up so he could look at her.

"…I miss him." She said as a tear rolled down her cheek onto his hand.

"I will relay the message, my lady." He said softly to her and gave her a smile. She smiled back and bowed her head to him. Aragorn bowed his head to her and watched his sister turn around heading back to Éomer.

Éomer extended his hand down to her as always, helping her up onto Firefoot. He noticed the sadness in her eyes and felt his heart sink. The Rohirrim started to turn their horses around back in the direction they were heading and waited for Éomer to shout out their orders.

Firefoot trotted up to the three travelers and Éomer looked at Aragorn and said, "Look for your friends but do not trust a hope. It is forsaken these lands." He then looked up at his riders and shouted, "We ride north!" and left the three where they stood.

Jem looked back at Aragorn and smiled, _"Looks like we both have our paths to take my brother. We shall meet again soon, I just know we will." _She thought and held on a little tighter to Éomer as Firefoot picked up his speed.


	6. Chapter 6:

Disclaimer crap: I don't own Éomer or any of the characters from Tolkien's books. I do own Jem/Ella and this story that I am writing. For fans of Karl Urban who played Éomer in the movie, I think he's a hottie and that's who I'm pretty much basing the character in looks. As always, not fluent in Elvish, so lets not freak out cause I don't know correct Elvish okay? And as always any lines from Peter Jackson's films are all his rights. I'm not making money off of this story cause lets face it…I'm not _that_ great:) Oh and one last thing, if you don't like my story…don't read it. Not too difficult now is it?

Chapter 6: Dreams, Fights & Questions

The rain fell hard on the plains of the Riddermark and the Rohirrim followed Éomer despite the weather. The wind blew so hard that Jem could not get her hood on her cloak to stay up. She finally wrapped her arm around Éomer's waist and held it up with her free hand. She could tell they were still in the Mark, but recognized they were in the part of the north that she entered when tracking the Orcs.

"My lord, there should be a small wooded area a mile and a half up a head. We could camp there for the night." She let out a shriek when thunder roared threw the sky. Jem wrapped both her arms around Éomer, letting her hood fall back.

He chuckled as he looked back at her. She was soaked to the bone and he knew if he didn't get her to a dry area she would grow ill. Éomer signaled for the men to go a head of him so they could set up camp.

"Do not worry they will go set up camp for us. Are you okay, my lady?" He asked concerned.

"I am fine. Do not grow concerned, I have been threw worse conditions." She said with a small smile and threw her hood up over her head again.

Éomer nodded and continued on towards the area where his men were setting up camp. When they reached the sight he dismounted Firefoot and reached out grabbing Jem by the waist helping her down. He looked at her and saw her eyes were half shut and felt her lean into him when her feet touched the ground.

"My Lord, your tent is ready." Denzil reported to him and showed him to where it was set up. It was under a large oak tree where it was sheltered from the rain.

"Thank you, Denzil. Inform the men to rest tonight and we will discuss where we are to head next in the morning." Éomer informed him.

"Yes, My Lord." Denzil replied giving a bow with his head and heading off.

"Lord Éomer, I must get some rest now." Jem said softly as she walked into the tent. She shrugged off her pack and removed her bow and arrows from her back. Jem rolled out her bedroll and crawled in going straight to sleep.

Éomer walked in to see she was sound asleep and noticed that she was shivering. Her clothes were soaking wet and her hair was dripping. He walked over to his bedroll to grab a fur that one of the men had left him and then draped it over her. He watched her as she continued to sleep and turn on her side. It was then he found that he was very tired as well and removed his armor along with his rain soaked shirt. Éomer then eased himself down on to his bedroll and went straight to sleep.

**Éomer's Dream: **

"Éomer!" a young voice called out to him. He recognized where he was, he was back home in Edoras outside by the stables. No one was around that he could see but he heard his name being called again and he looked over his shoulder. It was a child, a child who he automatically recognized. It was his cousin, Théodred.

"_Théodred?" He asked softly lowering himself to his knees as the child approached him. He wanted to make sure he was correct about who he saw in front of him. The little boy smiled and threw his arms around his neck and hugged him. "Théodred, you are a child…" He trailed off amazed. How could it be that his cousin was a child when he was only 2 years older than Éomer?_

_The child pulled back from his hug and looked into the soft green eyes of his cousin, "Éomer, you see me as a child because the happiest times we had were when we were children. I come to you as a spirit in a dream now." The child explained to him._

"_Spirit in a dream? This is not real then…none of this is real." Éomer said realizing what was going on. _

"_Aye Cousin, it is but a dream. But my spirit that is before you now is very real. I died this evening. The wound that I sustained from the battle in Ides was too great for me to survive." Young Théodred explained as he watched Éomer's face fall into despair. _

"_This is no dream…this is a nightmare." Éomer said softly bowing his head and looked at the ground. "You can not be dead! You are the next in line for the throne of Rohan!" he yelled angry and slammed his fist to the earth. _

"_Éomer, look at me." The young boy said putting his hands under Éomer's chin and lifted his head up. "I am now only a spirit and we do not have much time. Middle Earth is in grave danger. The ring of power has been found and now lies in the hands of a small Hobbit by the name of Frodo Baggins. You must help all those who are on the side of this Hobbit and do not let Sauran have the ring. You have already met the Man, Elf and Dwarf who are fighting for the side of good. They will become great allies to you, Éomer. A Wizard named, Gandalf the White now heads north looking for you. Go with him and help Father. For there is a great battle that Rohan will be apart of and they will need you and the rest of the Rohirrim to win." _

"_I understand, Théodred." Éomer said looking into his cousin's eyes, knowing that he spoke the truth. _

"_You are now next in line for the throne of Rohan, Éomer. I know you will honor our country and be among one of the greatest rulers of our time. Always believe in the hearts of our people, for they admire you greatly and will never doubt you." Young Théodred said with a smile. "I know about the young woman of the North who travels with you now. Lady Jem has a warrior's spirit but her heart is saddened by her past. She is on the side of good and will fight along side you to destroy the evil that haunts this world. Trust her and trust your heart." _

"_Trust my heart?" Éomer questioned, not understanding the true meaning behind his cousin's words. _

_Théodred just smiled again, "You will understand when that time comes." He leaned down and kissed Éomer's forehead. "I must leave now, Éomer. It is my time to go be with our fore fathers of Rohan. I will always be watching you." With that said, Théodred turned around and began to walk away towards a bright light that came threw the clouds and touched the earth. _

"_Théodred, Wait! Will we ever meet again?" The Third Marshal of the Mark asked as he rose to his feet. _

_Just as Théodred walked into the light, his body began to disappear slowly. He looked at his cousin one last time and smiled, "Of course we will, I shall be the one to take you home." _

_Éomer watched Théodred disappear and looked to the heavens where the light came from. "Until we meet again, Cousin Théodred." He said sadly. _

"Théodred! NO!"Éomer cried out as he sat straight up in his bedroll. It felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him and sadness gripped at his heart. He was crying and couldn't stop.

"Éomer?" Jem asked leaping out of her bedroll and rushing to his side. She fell to her knees next to him and took his large hand and held it. "Éomer, what happened? Are you ill? Shall I call for someone?"

He looked at her and said while holding back a sob, "My cousin, he is dead." He ran his hand threw his long golden hair and let out the sob that he could no longer hold back.

Jem's brown eyes widened and she knew by the look in his eyes that he spoke the truth. She sat on the roll facing his direction and gently brought his head to her shoulder, embracing him. "Doo habba kataca Éomer, unna istal trey." (I give you my strength Éomer, I am with you) she whispered not realizing that she said it in Elvish. He wrapped his strong arms around her and held her tightly to him. She was caught off guard a little by how close their bodies were that moment. The feeling went away as fast as it had came because she knew that he was grateful she was there with him.

After a few minutes had passed, Jem realized that his crying had ceased and she looked over at his face to see he had fallen asleep. She gently eased him back down onto his roll and pulled the fur up over his chest so he would not catch cold. Jem rose to her feet and looked down at him with a small smile then returned to her bedroll.

The next morning, Éomer opened his eyes and was taken back at what he was looking at. Jem had moved her bedroll closer to him during the night. He sat up and looked at her for a moment then stretched out his upper body.

Jem felt her eyes flutter open as her nights rest came to an end. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked over at Éomer. "Good morning." She said softly as she realized that even though they were in a tent, it was still broad daylight. She tried not to stair at his body and remained focused on his face.

"Good morning, Lady Jem." He replied taking a full look at her. Her clothes had dried but her hair was in a frizzy braid. He smiled at her and laughed.

She knew he laughed cause her hair was a mess. "This happens when it rains and I do not have a brush to smooth out my hair." She explained as she undid the braid and let her hair free and combed her fingers threw it.

He watched her and felt a faster beat pick up in his heart. Her hair was black when it was wet but when it dried it was very dark brown and wavy. It was about three inches longer then his but he still considered it short compared to how most women in Rohan grew their hair. Up until now, he never saw her wear it completely down. The sides were always pulled back or all of her hair was pulled back.

"Well, I guess this will have to do for now, until I can get a brush." She said with a sigh and then noticed that he was staring at her. "If this is about me being so close to your bedroll, I assure you that it's because I was worried about you and wanted to make sure you were alright." She lifted her chin up in a snobby way.

"I did wonder why you are so close. I thank you for your concern and being at my aid last night. I can tell you that will not happen again." He said reaching for his shirt. He slipped his royal dark purple shirt over his head and Jem suddenly felt her throat tighten at the sight of him dressing.

"You do not have to hide your emotions, Lord Éomer. You were grieving last night at the loss of someone you love and respect. Just because you are a man does not mean you do not have the right to cry." She said standing up and stretching her body.

"I am of noble blood, my lady. I have nearly a hundred men outside this tent who look to me for guidance and trust me with their lives. I must be able to react quickly if something is to happen. Emotions are only a distraction that can lead to death!" Éomer yelled rising to his feet.

Jem felt her blood boil, "That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard of!" she yelled at him. "If you show no emotion your heart will turn cold and make your mind crooked! I would rather be under the command of a Lord who shows some emotion, than none at all!"

She was about to leave when she felt his hand clamp down on her arm. Éomer pulled her next to him, "Why did he call you Ella?"

"I beg your pardon, My Lord?" she asked confused when he said "Ella".

"The Elf called you Ella, yesterday. Why did he call you Ella?" He asked again.

"What does this have to do with-?"

"My Lord!" A voice called out side the tent. They looked at one another and exited the tent but both stopped abruptly when they saw 150 more men had found them and joined their party.

Jem couldn't help but remain impressed at Éomer's loyal riders who would freely leave everything they had to follow him. She looked over at him and started to feel really guilty about everything she said. He had that effect on her. She was hot tempered and she knew it. "Éomer, I don't know how far we can continue with our journey with so many men. We would be spotted and attacked." She said softly.

He looked at the men who had showed up and bowed his head in thanks to them for their loyalty. But instead of bowing they returned the jester by kneeled before him. The other members of the party soon followed. It was then that Éomer realized that he was now the next in line to the throne of Rohan. His cousin was truly dead and now his duty to remain alive was going to be a greater task then he expected. Éomer looked over at Jem and smiled at her softly, "I would not worry about that, Lady Jem. I think it would be wise to stay here for a few days."

Authors Note: Thanks to all of you who have supported me on this fic! It really means the world to me that you guy's comment. I almost wanted to stop writing this after a little incident happened but I decided not to let you guys down and keep on going. Ain't no stopping me!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer crap: I don't own Éomer or any of the characters from Tolkien's books. I do own Jem/Ella and this story that I am writing. For fans of Karl Urban who played Éomer in the movie, I think he's a hottie and that's who I'm pretty much basing the character in looks. As always, not fluent in Elvish, so lets not freak out cause I don't know correct Elvish okay? And as always any lines from Peter Jackson's films are all his rights. I'm not making money off of this story cause lets face it…I'm not _that_ great:) Oh and one last thing, if you don't like my story…don't read it. Not too difficult now is it?

Authors Note: Well Chapter 7 is making its grand entrance and so is some very important story line. An explanation from Jem is giving our dear sweet Éomer something to think about. Now as a caution: I did everything I could in my power to not change up the back history of Aragorn. I've spent a little over 2 weeks writing this chapter over and over, so that it could make as much sense as possible. As always, to my fans, I thank you for your support. It means so much to me and keeps me writing. On with the Chapter!

Chapter 7: Answers and Leaving!

The next two days, Jem and Éomer did not speak to each other much. Jem spent most of her time with the Rohirrim horses and Éomer was discussing with his men a plan to get back into Rohan.

Jem felt she needed the time away from Éomer after their argument. She could not under stand why he pushed her for an explanation about the name, Ella. It was complicated for her to talk about. As much as she loved her birth name, it came with a past that she chose not to deal with. "_Without Strider, I do not believe that I can face this by myself. It is not just my name; it is the story that follows me because of where I am from. I wonder if I should keep on running or face my destiny." _She thought to herself as she bushed Denzil's horse named Windom, but she called him Kingly.

"Pel Éomer costnell wotell do peael daynol il stwii, Kingly." (Lord Éomer is stirring thoughts in my head, Kingly) She whispered softly to him as she started to brush his mane. "Dosta no keelwot yarstnay." (He brings nothing but questions.) 

"My lord a rider approaches!" one of the men who were sent on lookout called to Éomer.

"_Curlneath Mellons dortha bay._" (More friends join us) Jem said continuing to brush Kingly. When she finished brushing him, she took his reigns and led him to a near by stream so he may have a drink. Jem leaned up against a tree not far from him and closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the babbling stream. Just then, she heard a horse neigh and snort. She opened her eyes to see what she thought was a mind trick. Standing next to the stream were two horses instead of one.

"Watera…" she said softly as she extended her hand out in front of her reaching out to touch him. Jem slowly made her way to the horse and he trotted over to her and nuzzled her hand with his head. Tears of joy trickled down her face as she realized it was indeed her horse. "WATERA!" She cried out wrapping her arms around him and hugged him.

"Is this a dream old friend? Am I being cheated by a spell?" She asked letting him go and scratching him between his eyes. He shook his head from side to side as if to say, "No".

"Forgive me for leaving you in Rohan. I had no other choice; they would not let me take you. I felt your sadness when I was away. I am sorry." She apologized. Watera let out a whinny and a snort letting her know that all was forgiven and he understood.

"_Sooka nee_." (Thank you) she said to him in Elvish as she rested her head on the front of his.

"You are still tightly bonded to your horse, Ella, daughter of Arathorn." A kind and calm familiar voice said to her.

Jem lifted her head up and looked over her shoulder. She was a bit shocked to see who stood only about a half a yard away, Gandalf the Grey; one of the most well known wizards of Middle Earth. She took Watera's reigns then whistled for Kingly and walked over to the wizard. She dropped to one knee bowing to him and looked up with serious eyes.

"It is an honor to see you again, Gandalf." She said softly.

He chuckled as his hand rested on the top of her head for a moment then said, "Rise my child, such formality is not needed for this old man." He took her hand helping her to her feet. "Let me have a look at you." He replied looking at the woman who stood before him. "You have grown much since I saw you last. What age are you now?"

"Twenty-three years, sir."

"Twenty-three years old! You are all grown up now, no long the little girl I saw last in Rivendale. Time has past and now I find you in the middle of a small wooded area with nearly 500 Rohirrim." The old wizard said taking the reigns of Kingly as they headed towards the opening area of a thicket where camp was set up.

"Let us say that it was the Rohirrim who found me." Jem said with a smile at the old wizard laughed.

"You were caught, were you? The Horse Lords are very defensive of their lands; it is in their blood to cast out anything that does not belong in Edoras or the Riddermark. You are very lucky that they did not kill you Lady Ella." Gandalf said as they reached Denzil's tent and left Kingly to be with his master.

"I have Éomer to blame for keeping me alive, sir." She laughed looking at him. As soon as her eyes faced forward again she collided into something, or rather someone as she felt a pair of arms catch her before she could fall. She looked to see it was Éomer.

"I think it would be wise if you, Master Gandalf and myself go have a chat in the tent." He growled upset with her and proceeded to take Watera's reigns from her handing them to a Rohirrim. "Make sure this one is near mine." He instructed then pulled her to the tent. Gandalf followed behind the two and was concerned by Éomer anger.

Jem nearly tripped over her own two feet as Éomer nearly shoved her into his tent. Once Gandalf was in he closed the flap and told her to sit in one of the chairs that was there. Jem came to the conclusion that Éomer heard Gandalf call her Ella. She sighed and sat in the chair preparing for what was going to happen.

Éomer sat in the chair right across from her and Gandalf sat next to him. Jem felt very uncomfortable and wanted to leave. She would have given everything to have her brother with her right now.

"Why did you lie to me? You call yourself Jem but that is not your real name. I have heard the Elf call you Ella, and now Gandalf. I demand to know who you are this instant!" he yelled.

Jem looked at Gandalf for support but could see the Wizard was confused to what was going on. He did not know that she followed her brothers' footsteps in becoming a Ranger and was called under a different name. She took in a deep breath and decided to tell him whom she truly was.

"My real name is Ella, I am twenty-three years of age and I was born in the land of Gondor. When I was three, I was taken to the elves of Rivendale to be placed into hiding by Aragorn, son of Arathorn." She said looking, Éomer directly into his eyes.

"So you did know Aragorn when we met him in the Mark. That would explain why you told him about your brother." Éomer figured out.

Jem looked at Gandalf slightly frustrated, "He does not understand."

"If I may," Gandalf said and looked over to Éomer, "Do you know much of Gondor's history?" Éomer he asked him. Éomer simply shook his head no. "Then you may not know that for twenty years now, Gondor has been looking for a woman who would now be the age of twenty-three and second in line to the throne. Her brother chooses not to except his destiny as the rightful heir to the throne, for he claims himself to be a Ranger called Strider."

Éomer's eyes widened and looked at Jem completely shocked. "You are the missing Princess of Gondor?" He asked her softly. He felt some of the anger in him melt away as she nodded her head.

"Lord Éomer, it was very wrong of me to deceive you about my identity. For that I apologize and ask for your forgiveness. However, I would also ask you to please not to speak of my real identity. My brother went through great dangers to keep me safe and I honor it by going by a different name. You see, Princess Ella of Gondor, is now just a memory now." Jem explained.

"Aragorn is an older man, much older then you; by twenty years at least. Why would he hide his only sister?" He asked confused.

"It is true. My brother is twenty years older then I am. We are running from our destinies as heirs to the throne of Gondor. Aragorn more so because he feels he is not strong enough to resist the ring of power, should it fall into his hands. After all, we are the descendents of Isildur." She said folding her hands in her lap.

Éomer reached out taking Jems hand and lifted her chin up with his other hand so he could look at her, "Why do you run, my lady?" he asked her softly looking into her eyes. He understood the reason of Aragorn, running from the throne of Gondor. He would do the same if he were Isildurs heir.

"Because, I believe even though I am a woman, I too would be tempted by such a power. I am of noble blood but the noble blood of Isildur, and not destroying the ring when he had the chance showed his weakness. My brother did not want me to face such a temptation if the opportunity presented it self. He took me to Rivendale to Lord Elrond knowing the Elves would keep me safe and protected. Besides, what do I know about ruling a kingdom?" She answered him looking away from him.

"You turn your back on your people?" Éomer asked surprised at her.

Jem's head snapped up at him and anger blazed in her eyes, "Turn _my_ back on them?" she asked upset. "I will have you know Lord Éomer, that I most certainly did not turn my back on the people of Gondor! They turned their backs on _me_! One would think they would have sent soldiers to search for me, but instead they took the opportunity to appoint Denethor! The people of Gondor knew my brother did not want to be king, so instead of waiting fifteen years for me to reach eighteen so I may claim the throne, they appointed Denethor to temporarily rule Gondor, until the true king returns! They never cared about me because I am a woman and who wants a woman to rule a kingdom?" Jem shouted upset and tore her hand out of Éomers hand. She was so angry and frustrated. She nearly cursed him for having to know all about her; making her relive the painful past she worked so hard to bury away. Jem found herself crying and her body was shaking with such an anger she never felt before in her life. She took a deep breath and looked at Éomer, "So tell me, my Lord Éomer, do you still think it is wrong for me to not care for those whom did not care enough about me? To see if I was alive or dead?" Jem asked him softly as tears rolled off of her cheeks.

Éomer could not bring himself to say anything. He could not believe Gondor would abandon a small child. Not just any child; the princess of their kingdom. He wondered for a moment if she was lying to him again. But as he looked into her eyes and saw the crystal like tears form in her eyes then drop down her cheeks onto her pants. Jem did not lie to him. Éomer could tell by how her eyes seemed to beg him to understand her past.

"Please Lady Ella, you must calm down," Gandalf said looking at the both of them. "Éomer, knows the reason why I am here, you on the other hand do not."

Jem looked at the great wizard, she could tell something more important then explaining her past to the Third Lord Marshal. "My apologies, Gandalf. Please, tell me what weighs on your mind."

"Lady Ella, you must listen carefully, it concerns your brother." Gandalf said hoping she would not get hysterical from what he was about to tell her. "Aragorn, along with Legolas, Gimli and the people of Rohan have made their way for Helms Deep. There is an army of 10,000 or more Uruk-hai marching towards Helms Deep when I road past on Shadowfax yesterday to find Éomer and the Rohirrim."

Jem's big brown eyes went wide and she was horrified. "No…" she whispered getting out of her chair. Éomer stood up as well.

Gandalf rose out of his chair and stood in front of her, "Lady Ella, do not doubt your brothers skill with a sword. He is an excellent swordsman, who has years of training and been in battle before. You must believe he will make it threw this alive." He said hopeful.

"Jem, Gandalf came her to inform me of the troubles that head towards Helms Deep…the Rohirrim will set out tonight to aid the king and your brother. I will not let Rohan suffer anymore then necessary. It is my duty to go to my peoples aid in their hour of need." Éomer explained.

Jem felt like he kicked her in the stomach. She was aggravated and needed to get out of the tent before she would cut Éomer's arm off in anger. She walked past him and Gandalf, making her way to the tent flap pushing it aside. Before she could take a step out Éomer asked,

"Where are you going? We are leaving in a few hours!"

"I am going out for some air." She said looking over her shoulder before exiting.

Éomer turned his back to the flap with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Gandalf sat back in his chair and looked at the Third Lord Marshal.

"You are frustrated with her." He stated looking up at him. "Fear not, son of Èomund, she does not loath you. Ella is young and confused about her feelings, she will understand with time." The elderly wizard said with a small smile on his face.

Éomer looked over at him angry, "If you are implying that there is something between us, you are greatly mistaken. She does not captivate my interest in the slightest-"

"My lady! Where are you going?" A voice called out.

Gandalf and Éomer rushed out of the tent to see what was wrong. Suddenly a black horse rushed past them at a fast speed. Éomer saw it was Jem on the back of Watera.

"Jem! Where are you going?" Éomer cried out to her concerned. Gandalf looked at him and then back at Jem. Watera halted turning around to face them. Jem locked eyes with Éomer from about 40 yards away.

Her heart raced and she swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, "Forgive me." She whispered into the wind and turned Watera around and took off down the plains of the Riddermark.

"JEM!" Éomer called out again. He was about to run to Firefoot to catch up to her when Gandalf grabbed his arm.

"Let her go." He said.

"She could get killed! It is not safe on the Mark!" Éomer yelled upset.

"Have you not seen her fight?" Gandalf asked amazed.

"Aye I have, but if a band of 100 Orc's should come…not even the greatest swordsmen has a chance." Éomer explained.

"I thought you said she did not captivate your interest." Gandalf replied looking at the Third Lord Marshal, as he watched Jem ride across the plains of the Mark.


	8. Chapter 8: Dreams then Fight

Disclaimer crap: I don't own Éomer or any of the characters from Tolkien's books. I do own Jem/Ella and this story that I am writing. For fans of Karl Urban who played Éomer in the movie, I think he's a hottie and that's who I'm pretty much basing the character in looks. As always, not fluent in Elvish, so lets not freak out cause I don't know correct Elvish okay? And as always any lines from Peter Jackson's films are all his rights. I'm not making money off of this story cause lets face it…I'm not _that_ great:) Spelling and grammar were never my strong suit, thank goodness for Spell Check and I apologize for my grammar. Oh and one last thing, if you don't like my story…don't read it. Not too difficult now is it?

Chapter 8: Stop Looking Back, Dream Then Fight!

The sun shined down on the plains of the Riddermark, as Ella, Daughter of Arathorn, rode across on the back of her horse Watera. She was hoping to make it to Helms Deep by tomorrow evening if she did not stop for a long period of time.

She thought about Éomer and could not get their last conversation together out of her mind. He seemed so angry at her about her real name. Jem could not understand the problem, she did not want to keep the name Ella; it held nothing more then a painful past. Yet, Éomer questioned her if she turned her back on her people. It was that which made the situation worse. He could not begin to imagine being told that the city you were born in had abandoned you.

Jem looked over her shoulder now and then to see if anyone had followed her. Part of her wanted to see the Third Lord Marshal riding horseback after her. To tell her he was sorry about everything. However, the other part of her was glad to see he was not there, so she could have a chance of seeing her brother.

Her brother, Aragorn, was another matter that weighed on her mind. Gandalf the White informed her that 10,000 or more Uruk-hai were heading to Helms Deep. Aragorn was helping the King of Rohan lead the people to Helms Deep for safety.

If it were 50 Uruk-hai that headed towards Helms Deep there would be no need for concern. 10,000 Uruk-hai was a whole other matter. No matter how great a swordsman her brother was, she knew that he could not possibly take out 10,000 with a very small Rohirrim army by his side. She looked over her shoulder again.

"_Stop it!" _She scolded herself mentally. _"He is not coming for you. You lied to him and what's worse, you took off probably causing him to worry!" _ She narrowed her brown eyes as Watera trotted up a hill. She then scanned the land for any Orc and Urki-hai troops. Jem saw no threat and continued downhill.

Nightfall approached and Jem made sure that she and Watera could rest. It would only be for a few short hours before they would start out again to Helms Deep. Jem rolled out her bedroll and placed it on the ground. She began to wish she stayed with the Rohirrim, at least their tents kept her warm and safe from the harsh cold of the Riddermark evenings.

Jem went to sleep quickly and started to dream.

**Jem's Dream: **

_Jem opened her eyes and sat straight up to see she was no longer in the Mark. Instead she found herself sitting in a meadow in a patch of lush dark green grass and surrounded by flowers. She heard the sound of a stream that was not far from where she laid and rose to her feet to get a drink of water. _

_She cupped her hands and dipped them into the steam and brought the crystal clear water to her lips. As she drank the water, enjoying its refreshing taste, she felt the presents of another. Jem looked over and up to see a very familiar face, Aragorn stood before her. She stood up and looked at him and then smiled, "I'm dreaming aren't I?" she asked throwing her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. _

"_Indeed you are, Ella." He said stroking the back of her head softly as she hugged him. _

"_Few are aloud to call me that. You can because you are my brother." She said as she let him go. "You come to me in a dream big brother, please tell me that you are not a spirit of the dead." She said looking up at him concerned. _

"_I am not, little sister. I would never leave you alone in this world still so young as our parents did. My duties as an older brother are not complete." He assured her as he took her arm in to the crook of his and began to walk along the edge of the stream with her._

"_You are experiencing feelings for the Third Lord Marshal of the Mark, are you not?" he asked her. _

"_I figured you would find out." Jem said with a small laugh. "Aye, I am trying to fight it Aragorn, but it grows stronger everyday. Am I under a spell?" she asked innocently._

_Aragorn chuckled at his sister, "To be young and in love. I too remember what that-"_

"_I am not in love!" Jem said suddenly angry. "This is not love! There is admiration, respect and a very weird warm feeling when I am around him...but not love." She stopped and looked at her brother who was smiling. "It can not be, can it? I have not known him for very long."_

_Aragorn raised his hand and touched his sisters cheek and looked into her dark brown eyes, "One does not have to know someone long to be in love Ella, it just happens. I fell in love with Arwen the moment I met her. You can fight it all you want, but it will not do you any good." Aragorn then leaned down and kissed her forehead. "You must wake now little sister, I will see you soon."_

"_Aragorn, please don't go...I miss you so much." Jem said softly as a tear rolled down her cheek. _

"_And I miss you, wake now Ella, wake up." He said softly as he disappeared. _

Jem sat straight up and looked up to see Watera, standing next to her nudging her shoulder with his head. She choked back a sob and wiped away the tear that rolled down her cheek with the back of her hand. Jem stroked Watera under his neck and leaned her head against his.

"_Normanal layla veehar Aragorn. Caroot, baya ethanon_." She said to him getting up from the ground and rolling up her sleeping roll. (I had a dream about Aragorn. Come, we must go.)

Jem rode Watera for 3 hours before she heard any kind of noise that indicated a battle was taking place. Just ahead was a small mountain and over it was Helms Deep, or what could be left of it.

Jem had Watera begin the trek up the mountain and when they finally reached the top her eyes widen at the battle-taking place below. She noticed that men on horseback rose out of the city or Helms Deep, slaughtering all the Urki-hai and Orcs in their path. The men were greatly out numbered but it wasn't until Jem saw her brother that she felt a wave of joy and hope wash over her. He was alive and proudly fought for the survival of mankind.

She could see that Aragorn, looked up in her direction but not directly at her. She looked over to see Gandalf, next to her on the back of his trusted horse and friend, Shadowfax.

"Your brother is fighting with all his heart and spirit for the survival of mankind, Lady Ella." Gandalf said with a smile.

"Aye, that he is Gandalf. I will be joining him." Jem replied drawing out her sword.

"Théodan King stands alone." Gandalf said gazing down at the battle.

Jem looked over to see Éomer, riding up proudly on Firefoot next to Gandalf.

"He is not alone." Éomer replied drawing out his sword. He looked over at Jem for a moment and said nothing. He had no words to say to her before he took off for battle, but he was relived to see her alive. He raised his sword and cried out, "ROHIRRIM!"

"Éomer." King Théodan said with a grateful smile to see his nephew and the rest of the Rohirrim riders who stood behind him and Gandalf the White.

"TO THE KING!" Éomer cried out and with Gandalf, led the charge down the side of the mountain with 2,000 Rohirrim behind them. Jem followed next to Gandalf, knowing that she should stay close to him just in case something was to happen. Gandalf would know what to do if anything bad were to happen.

She braced herself for the possibility of injury. Jem did not wear any armor, only the clothes a Ranger would wear. She looked over at Éomer for a second and nearly felt her heart stopped. He looked very dashing sitting on the back of Firefoot, with his sword drawn and eyes fierce. When she looked back she found herself swinging her blade and felt it connect with the face of an Orc.

Éomer was ruthless with his sword and killed his way to his uncle to make sure he was all right. He gave the King of Rohan, a small smile and proceeded to stick the blade of his sword in the neck of an Urki-hai.

Aragorn looked over to see Éomer and was very happy to see him and the rest of the Rohirrim had come to lend a hand. After a moment or so it dawned on him that his sister was suppose to be with the Cavalry of Rohan. A sinking feeling formed in the pit of this stomach.

"Éomer!" Aragorn cried out as she shoved his sword threw the throat of an Orc and pulled it out quickly. "Where is my sister?"

Éomer found a spear that was sticking straight into the ground. He pulled it out and threw it at the Urki-hai that started to attack Aragorn. When the Urki-hai fell over he looked at Aragorn and replied, "I saw her next to Gandalf as we came down the mountain!"

"You let her fight!" Aragorn yelled as his sword went down onto the head of an Orc and he looked up when her heard his name being called.

"Aragorn, look! Lady Ella!" Legolas called as he pointed to the direction where she was with his bow.

Aragorn looked over his shoulder to see his sister fighting some Urki-hai. "Ella." He said softly and turned his horse around and took off towards his sister.

Legolas noticed that an Urki-hai had an arrow aimed at Aragorn. He loaded his bow with two arrows and fired, striking the fowl creature in the back threw the heart. He smiled and said, "38."

"Ella!" Aragorn called her as he charged over to her and sliced the head off an Orc that grabbed her boot.

Jem didn't realize that her brother had helped her because she was too busy stabbing an Orc in the back of the neck with one of her daggers. When she pulled it out she over to see Aragorn looked at her slightly impressed with her fighting skills. "Aragorn, I'm so glad to-"

"You must get out of here, now." He insisted, as he looked her over to make sure she was not hurt.

"I am fine brother." She said in a soft tone giving him a small smile. "Let us win this war and celebrate." She said holding out her hand.

Aragorn grabbed it and held it tightly giving it a squeeze and smiled. "You really are fearless, little sister."

Jem smiled and let her brothers' hand go and they took off to help the others.

Soon, all the Urki-hai and Orcs took off towards the forest knowing they could not win the battle. Some of the riders started to go after them but Éomer yelled, "Stay out of the forest! Keep away from the trees!"

Everyone stopped to watch all the Urki-hai and Orcs run into the forest. Jem was between Aragorn and Éomer as they watch the evil creatures disappear from sight. She wondered why Éomer told them all not go head for the forest. It was then she saw an amazing sight. The Ents had begun to attack the Urki-hai and Orcs. She could see the treetops moving and let out a cheer of victory. The rest of the men joined her and they all turned their horses around and headed back Helms Deep.

On the way back to the fortress, Jem saw all the bodies that littered the ground. Many were the bodies of their enemies and the rest were of men some of them only boys. She choked back a sob kept walking threw the battlefield because she felt Watera needed a rest from all the riding. She held onto his reigns and led him back to get him some well-deserved water and hay.

Éomer spotted Jem and rode over on Firefoot, to talk to her. He dismounted and walked over to her. "Lady Jem!" he called out to her.

She looked over her shoulder and saw the Third Lord Marshal walking towards her. Jem looked away and kept walking. There was nothing to say to him.

"Lady Jem!" He called to her again and caught up with her. "My Lady." He said looking at her to make sure she was all right.

Jem stopped and looked at him, "You leave your horse to wander, My Lord Marshal?" She asked as she looked over to see Firefoot with no one to watch him. He looked at her for a second and then whistled for his horse. Firefoot came over obediently and nuzzled Éomer's shoulder.

Éomer took his reigns and started talking, "Lady Jem, I have done something thinking while you have been away. I have misjudged you and the situation. Master Gandalf informed me after you left that you have not had an easy life."

"I am aware of my own life, Lord Éomer." She said to him looking past him and at the battle field, watching surviving soldiers carry bodies of the dead to an area where they could identify the dead and give them a proper burial. "I am sadden to see so many dead, I wish I could have been here sooner. Maybe some of them would have been spared of such brutal deaths." She confessed.

"You could have been killed instead." Éomer said looking at the area of bodies and shook his head.

"Éomer! Do these men and boys not have families who are grieving for them? Most of these boys are younger then I; not even having the chance to live their lives to the fullest!" she yelled picking up an Orc helmet and threw it in anger.

Éomer grabbed her, pulling her close to his body hugging her. "They will not be forgotten Jem. We will honor all of their lives with proper burials. Burials fit for royalty." He pledged to her and placed a small kiss on the top of her head. This was why women did not fight battles. They could not truly understand that to fight for their country and die was a noble and honorable thing. Éomer dare not tell her this now, not while she was angry and upset already.

Jem pulled away slowly and wiped her face and said, "Forgive me, now is not the time to be emotional. I was overwhelmed and filled with grief. If you will excuse me, My Lord, I am going to look for my brother. I have not seen him in months and I have much to talk to him about."

"There is nothing to forgive, My Lady." He replied brushing a tear off her cheek and turned to walk over to Firefoot.

Jem looked down at the ground for a moment a little embarrassed but then heard something. She looked up to see and Orc who was barely alive lift up his cross bow and had it aimed for Éomer's heart. She blinked and heard him fire it.

"ÉOMER!" She screamed and lunged out at him.

Éomer looked to see the arrow heading straight for him but then felt Jem push him out of the way. As he began to fall he heard the most bone-chilling scream he had ever heard. When he hit the ground he heard another arrow being fired and sound of something dying. Éomer looked over to see Jem lying next to him on her side with blood splattered all over her. He looked to see that the arrow had landed into the right side of her chest.

Authors End Note: My loyal readers, I would like to apologize for the long period of time this took for me to post this chapter. I became side tracked for a while and started a new project (story). I will continue this story because I know so many of you have enjoyed reading it. I thank you all so much for the support and love for this story.

Jetta


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